Ship visit reflects India-NZ friendship

Captain H.C.S. Bisht on the Tabar, a missile frigate visiting Auckland. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

One of the Indian Navy's most modern ships, the Indian missile frigate Tabar, arrived at Devonport yesterday morning for a five-day visit.

The 2-year-old warship, which was commissioned in St Petersburg in 2004, is in New Zealand on a goodwill visit.

The 124.8m naval vessel is home to a crew of 305 sailors and 34 officers and weighs 4250 tonnes.

The Tabar has an impressive range of weapons and sensors, including vertical launch surface attack missiles, surface-to-air missiles, anti-submarine weapons and a suite of guns.

The Royal New Zealand Navy frigate Te Mana recently visited the Indian ports of Cochin and Mumbai as part of a reciprocal visit.

The reciprocal visits signal increasing interaction between the two Commonwealth navies.

Highlights of the Tabar's visit will include a powhiri for the crew, a band session involving military musicians from both the Tabar and the Royal New Zealand Navy, and a soccer match between the Indians and their Kiwi hosts.

Before arriving in New Zealand the frigate stopped off in Jakarta, Indonesia, to unload a shipment of aid for the survivors of the Yogyakarta earthquake on May 27.